Cleat means for athletic shoes



Y 18, 1967 s. c. HOLLISTER ETAL 3,33

CLEA'I' MEANS FOR ATHLETIC SHOES Original Filed March 28 1962 FIG. 5

INVENTORS. SO MON C. LLIST ANK J. VAN

BY M #w TH E I R ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent 3,331,148 CLEAT MEANS FOR ATHLETIC SHOES Solomon C. Hollister, 417 Highland Road, and Frank .1.

Iiegggxagh, 408 N. Cayuga St., both of Ithaca, NY.

1 Continuation of application Ser. No. 183,085, Mar. 28,

1962. This application Sept. 29, 1964, Ser. No. 403,431 16 Claims. (Cl. 36-67) This application is a continuation of applicants prior application, Ser. No. 183,085, filed Mar. 28, 1962, and now abandoned.

This invention relates to spike or cleat means for shoes for football, baseball, golf and other athletic wear, one object being to provide an improved cleat means of a more simple and effective construction.

Another object is the provision of such means requiring fewer parts of a more rugged and durable nature.

A further object is to supply a cleat means which is more readily applied to a shoe and without defacement of the hoe parts.

Still a further object is to provide a cleat means having the above advantages and in a construction capable of being manufactured more conveniently and at less expense.

To these and other ends the invention resides in certain improvements and combinations of parts, all as will be herein-after more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partly broken away and partly in section, of a cleat means embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, sectional view on the line 2-2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows the cleat attaching means;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the cleat as shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary view of the head of the post of the attaching means;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged, fragmentary view of the shoe engaging end of the attaching means;

FIG. 7 is an elevational view of a modified cleat construction;

FIG. 8 i a side elevation of a modified construction of attaching means, and

FIG. 9 is a view partly in section showing the cleat means applied to the sole of the shoe.

The invention is embodied in the present instance in a spike or cleat and means for attaching the same to shoes for football, baseball and golf or other athletic Wear. Such cleat means have commonly included a bolt passed from the inside toward the outside of the sole of the shoe and fastened in position by a nut attaching it to the sole. The cleat, usually of conical shape, has been formed with an opening receiving the protruding bolt and has usually been formed of a plastic material which has not been strong enough for threaded engagement with the bolt, so that a metallic sleeve has been inserted in the plastic cleat and threadedly engaged with the bolt. Such a construction has tended to result in rusting and stripping of the threaded connection between the cleat sleeve and the bolt, with loosening of the cleat and also in rotation of the cleat on the shoe with the resulting disfigurement of the shoe sole.

In avoiding these and other defects the invention resides in the present instance in a cleat 29 which may be conical or have some irregular shape as shown in adaptation to use on a football shoe, As shown, the cleat is truncated at its smaller outer end and has a flat base 22 for close contact with the outer or under surface of the shoe sole 24.

ice

For ease of description, the portion of the shoe to which the cleat 29 is attached is referred to as the sole whether the particular cleat is located near the front or toe of the shoe or near the rear or heel of the shoe.

In one embodiment of the invention the cleat is formed with an opening or socket 26 (FIG. 4) extending inwardly from its base and may have in this embodiment an inner cylindrical portion 28 of smaller diameter and an outer cylindrical portion 38 of relatively larger diameter with a tapered shoulder 32 between the portions (1 16.4).

The attaching part for locking the cleat to the shoe comprises a post or shank 34 (FIG. 3) having at one end a conical flange 36 adapted to be countersunk in the inner surface of the shoe sole. Flange 36 need not extend as far as the innermost surface of sole 24, but must be spaced from the lowermost surface of sole 24 and disposed so that shank 34 cannot be pulled downward from sole 24. The attaching post 34 has near its proximal end a cylindrical shank portion or stem 38 and near its distal end a cylindrical shank portion 40, with an intermediate neck portion 42 of less diameter. The distal end of por tion 49 is conically shaped or rounded as at 44 to facilitate entry of the shank into the cleat socket. The inner or proximal end of the shank portion is formed with an abrupt transverse shoulder 46 for a purpose hereafter described.

The flange 36 for attachment of the post or shank to the shoe is preferably provided with radially extending fins 48 (FIG. 6) or other roughening to immovably anchor the flange in the sole material as it i compressed between the cleat and its attaching means, thus anchoring the attaching means against rotation on the sole. The distal portion 40 of the shank is preferably formed with longitudinally extending, circumferentially spaced ridges 50 (FIG. 5) for the purpose hereafter described.

The stem portion 38 of the attaching post or shank is a close lit in the portion 30 of the cleat socket, While the distal portion 40 of the shank is of larger diameter but less length than the inner portion 28 of the socket. The post or shank is inserted through an opening in the shoe sole and into the socket in the cleat with the cleat in position on the sole and the shank portion 40 is forcefully pressed into the portion 28 of the socket until the cleat base rests against and closely engages the under surface of the shoe sole and the flange 36 of the attaching means is embedded in the inner surface of the sole, as shown in FIG. 2. The parts are so proportioned that shoulder 46 of the shank portion 40 is driven into the socket substantially beyond the shoulder 32 of the inner portion 28 of the cleat socket as shown.

The attaching means including the post or shank is preferably molded in one piece of aluminum and the cleat 20 is preferably molded in one piece of a suitable plastic. As the head or distal portion 40 of the post is forced into the socket portion 28 of smaller diameter, the material of the sides of the cleat socket is forced outwardly in compression (FIG. 2). The compressed state thus produced in the socket material causes it to expand behind the shoulder 46 to form an annular ridge or shoulder opposed to and engaging shank shoulder 46 so as to immovably and inseparably lock the post in the cleat and the cleat to the shoe. Post shoulder 46 should penetrate sufficiently inward beyond the shoulder 32 of the socket to avoid splitting or chipping of the socket at its shoulder 32.

A variety of materials may be employed for the post and cleat socket part, important considerations being that the socket part material must be strong enough to avoid splitting by the post; it must have a modulus of elasticity high enough to cause a substantial radial pressure inward against the post head as it is forced into the socket; it must have a tensile strength high enough to maintain a pressure reaction against the head of the post and its modulus of elasticity must be substantially lower than that of the post material and low enough to produce substantial deflections in the socket material radially inward behind the shoulder 46 of the post. The socket part material must also have the property of resisting such stresses, as well as impact stresses at low temperatures; it must resist abrasion in engagement with rough terrain and it mut be relatively light in weight. A material particularly suited to meet such requirements is nylon such, for example, as the nylon material sold by the Du Pont company under the trademark Zytel, but other known materials may be employed instead.

The post head or distal end 40 may have a diameter a few hundredths of an inch larger than the diameter of the socket portion 28. The ridges 56 (FIG. 5) in head 40 improve the engagement of head 40 with socket 28 by increasing the friction with and varying the deformation of the material of the socket part.

In a modified construction including a partial interchange of parts (FIGS. 7-9), the cleat 52 is of truncated cone shape particularly suitable for use on golf shoes with a flat base 54 adapted to rest on a metal lock washer 56 seated against the outer or under surface of the shoe sole 58. This cleat carries an integral post or shank 60 (FIG. 7) adapted for insertion in an attaching means indicated generally at 62 (FIG. 8) comprising a tubular portion 64 with a conical flange 66. This socketed attaching means is adapted for insertion through an opening in the shoe sole (FIG. 9) with the flange 66 countersunk in the sole material, as described in connection with the embodiment of FIGS. 1-6.

This attaching means is formed with a cylindrical socket 68 for the reception of the post or shank 60 of the cleat. The shank has a cylindrical head portion 70 of larger diameter and less length than the socket 68 of the attaching means 62 and an inner and small cylindrical portion 72 which is a close fit in the socket 68. An intermediate or neck portion 74 of reduced diameter provides an abrupt shoulder 76 on the proximal extremity of portion 70 corresponding to the shoulder 46 of the first described embodiment of the invention and for the same purpose. The forward end of portion 70 of the post is rounded or conical in shape as at 78 to facilitate entry of the post in the socket.

The operation of this modified construction is essentially the same as that of the form first described, in that the post 60 is forced into the socket 68 of the attaching means 62 in the sole of the shoe, with the result that the head of the post compresses the material of the side walls of the socket so that the material expands behind the post head 76, locking and anchoring the post in the socket and the cleat to the shoe.

The invention thus provides a spike or cleat means which is readily adaptable in shape for shoes for various athletic activities. The construction is simple, comprising but few parts of strong and durable conformation without resort to screw threads or other structural details likely to fail in use. The cleat means is readily applied to the shoe sole without requiring rotation of the cleat on the sole so that any defacement of the sole is avoided. Moreover, the construction is one which is capable of being readily manufactured at low cost.

It will thus be seen that the invention accomplishes its objects and while it has been herein disclosed by reference to the details of preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that such disclosure is intended in an illustrative, rather than a limiting sense, as it is contemplated that various modifications in the construction and arrangement of the parts will readily occur to those skilled in the art, within the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In cleat means adapted for attachment to the sole of a shoe for athletic wear, the improvement comprising: formation of said cleat means in'two parts one of which comprises a turf-engaging cleat and the other of which comprises means for attaching said cleat to said sole; said attaching means extending through said sole and having a flange end spaced from the under surface of said sole and disposed to prevent downward movement of said attaching means through said sole; said cleat being adapted to be inseparably coupled with said attaching means and having a base for substantially closely engaging said under surface of said sole and having a body extending downward from said sole; means for securely coupling said two parts together, said coupling means comprising a mutually interengaging shank and socket, said shank and socket. each being formed integrally with respective opposite ones of said two parts; said socket part being relatively elastic and having a lower modulus of elasticity than the material of said shank part; said shank having a distal end and a proximal end, and a length of said shank spaced from said proximal end being substantially larger in cross section than said socket at the point of seated engagement of said length with said socket; said shank, at the proximal extremity of said length, having an abrupt transverse shoulder communicating with a neck portion smaller in cross section than i said socket, said neck portion extending a substantial distance from said shoulder toward said proximal end;.

said shank, near its proximal end, having a stem portion communicating with said neck portion and having substantially the same cross sectional size as the open end of said socket so that said stem portion closely and uniformly engages said socket in the region of said open end thereof; said shank being adapted to be forced into said socket whereupon said length of said shank deforms said material of said socket part by outward compression of said material of said socket part adjacent said length of said shank, said neck portion allows inward expansion of said elastic material of said socket part to form a shoulder opposed to and engaging said abrupt transverse shoulder to prevent separation of said socket part and said shank part so as to hold said cleat and said attaching means securely together and to retain said cleat in engagement with said sole, and said stem portion is snugly seated in said open end of said socket without deforming said material of said socket part.

2. The cleat means of claim 1 wherein said socket is generally cylindrical and said shank is adapted to be forced into said socket to a depth predetermined by the relation of said cleat, sole, and attaching means.

3. The cleat means of claim 1 wherein said attaching means is formed as said shank part, and said cleat is formed as said socket part.

4. The cleatmeans of claim 1 wherein said cleat is formed as said shank part and said attaching means is formed as said socket part.,

5. The cleat means of claim 2 wherein said length of said shank has a larger diameter thansaid stem portion.

6. The cleat means'of claim 3 wherein said socket is formed with a cylindrical outer portion of about the same diameter as said stem portion-and a cylindrical inner portion of a diameter less than said outer portion, and the diameter of said length of said shank is substantially the same as the diameter of said stem portion.

7. The cleat means of claim 1 wherein said shank part i is molded in one piece of metal,and said socket part is molded in one piece of a synthetic plastic material.

8. The cleat means of claim 1 wherein said length of i said shank is formed with a plurality of longitudinally oriented ridges.

9. The cleat means of claim 1 wherein the sole-engaging surface of said flange end of said attaching means is provided with a plurality of radially extending .vanes for better engagement between said flange and said sole.

10. In a cleat means adapted for attachment to the sole of a shoe for athletic wear, the improvement comprising: formation of said cleat means in two parts one of which comprises a turf-engaging cleat and the other of which comprises means for attaching said cleat to said sole; said attaching means extending through said sole and having a flange end spaced from the under surface of said sole and disposed to prevent downward movement of said attaching means through said sole; said cleat being adapted to be inseparably coupled with said attaching means and having a base for substantially closely engaging said under surface of said sole and having a body extending downward from said sole; means for securely coupling said two parts together, said coupling means comprising a mutually interengaging shank and socket, said shank and socket each being generally cylindrical and each being molded in one piece and formed integrally with respective opposite ones of said two parts; the material of said socket part being relatively elastic and having a lower modulus of elasticity than the material of said shank; said shank having a distal end and a proximal end, and a portion of said shank adjacent said distal end being substantially larger in diameter than said socket at the point of seated engagement of said distal end portion with said socket; said shank, at the proximal extremity of said distal end portion, having an abrupt transverse shoulder communicating with a neck portion of smaller diameter than said socket, said neck portion extending a substantial distance from said shoulder towards said proximal end; said shank, near its proximal end, having a generally right circular cylindrical stem portion communicating with said neck portion and having substantially the same diameter as the open end of said socket so that said stem portion closely and uniformly engages said socket at the point of seated engagement of said stem portion With said socket; said shank being adapted to be forced a predetermined distance into said socket whereupon said distal end portion of said shank deforms said material of said socket part by outward compression of said material of said socket part adjacent said distal end portion, said neck portion allows inward expansion of said material of said socket part to form a shoulder opposed to and engaging said abrupt transverse shoulder to prevent separation of said socket part and said shank part so as to hold said cleat and said attaching means securely together and to retain said cleat in engagement with said sole, and said stem portion is snugly seated in said open end of said socket without deforming said material of said socket part.

11. The cleat means of claim 10 wherein said attaching means is formed as said shank part, and said cleat is formed as said socket part.

12. The cleat means of claim 11 wherein said socket is formed with a cylindrical outer portion of about the same diameter of said stern portion and a cylindrical inner portion of a diameter less than said outer portion, and the diameter of said distal end portion of said shank is substantially the same as the diameter of said stem portion.

13. The cleat means of claim 10 wherein said cleat is formed as said shank part and said attaching means is formed as said socket part.

114. The cleat means of claim 10 wherein said distal end portion of said shank has a larger diameter than said stem portion.

15. The cleat means of claim 10 wherein said distal end portion of said shank is formed with a plurality of longitudinally oriented ridges.

16. The cleat means of claim 10 wherein the soleengaging surface of said flange end of said attaching means is provided with a plurality of radially extending vanes for better engagement between said flange and said sole and to prevent relative rotation between said flange and said sole.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 302,249 .7/ 1884 Hathorn 36-67 1,945,840 2/1934 Wiggin 36-67 2,118,107 5/1938 Riddell 36-67 2,207,476 7/ 1940 Bernstein 36-67 2,223,794 12/1940 Pierce et al 3667 2,607,134 8/1952 Langer 3667 2,652,638 9/1953 Shoemaker 36-67 PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner. A. R. GUEST, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN CLEAT MEANS ADAPTED FOR ATTACHMENT TO THE SOLE OF A SHOE FOR ATHLETIC WEAR, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING: FORMATION OF SAID CLEAT MEANS IN TWO PARTS ONE OF WHICH COMPRISES A TURF-ENGAGING CLEAT AND THE OTHER OF WHICH COMPRISES MEANS FOR ATTACHING SAID CLEAT TO SAID SOLE; SAID ATTACHING MEANS EXTENDING THROUGH SAID SOLE AND HAVING A FLANGE END SPACED FROM THE UNDER SURFACE OF SAID SOLE AND DISPOSED TO PREVENT DOWNWARD MOVEMENT OF SAID ATTACHING MEANS THROUGH SAID SOLE; SAID CLEAT BEING ADAPTED TO BE INSEPARABLY COUPLED WITH SAID ATTACHING MEANS AND HAVING A BASE FOR SUBSTANTIALLY CLOSELY ENGAGING SAID UNDER SURFACE OF SAID SOLE AND HAVING A BODY EXTENDING DOWNWARD FROM SAID SOLE; MEANS FOR SECURELY COUPLING SAID TWO PARTS TOGETHER, SAID COUPLING MEANS COMPRISING A MUTUALLY INTERENGAGING SHANK AND SOCKET, SAID SHANK AND SOCKET EACH BEING FORMED INTEGRALLY WITH RESPECTIVE OPPOSITE ONES OF SAID TWO PARTS; SAID SOCKET PART BEING RELATIVELY ELASTIC AND HAVING A LOWER MODULUS OF ELASTICITY THAN THE MATERIAL OF SAID SHANK PART; SAID SHANK HAVING A DISTAL END AND A PROXIMAL END, AND A LENGTH OF SAID SHANK SPACED FROM SAID PROXIMAL END BEING SUBSTANTIALLY LARGER IN CROSS SECTION THAN SAID SOCKET AT THE POINT OF SEATED ENGAGEMENT OF SAID LENGTH WITH SAID SOCKET; SAID SHANK, AT THE PROXIMAL EXTREMITY OF SAID LENGTH, HAVING AN ABRUPT TRANSVERSE SHOULDER COMMUNICATING WITH A NECK PORTION SMALLER IN CROSS SECTION THAN SAID SOCKET, SAID NECK PORTION EXTENDING A SUBSTANTIAL DISTANCE FROM SAID SHOULDER TOWARD SAID PROXIMAL END; SAID SHANK, NEAR ITS PROXIMAL END, HAVING A STEM PORTION COMMUNICATING WITH SAID NECK PORTION AND HAVING SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME CROSS SECTIONAL SIZE AS THE OPEN END OF SAID SOCKET SO THAT SAID STEM PORTION CLOSELY AND UNIFORMLY ENGAGES SAID SOCKET IN THE REGION OF SAID OPEN END THEREOF; SAID SHANK BEING ADAPTED TO BE FORCED INTO SAID SOCKET WHEREUPON SAID LENGTH OF SAID SHANK DEFORMS SAID MATERIAL OF SAID SOCKET PART BY OUTWARD COMPRESSION OF SAID MATERIAL OF SAID SOCKET PART ADJACENT SAID LENGTH OF SAID SHANK, SAID NECK PORTION ALLOWS INWARD EXPANSION OF SAID ELASTIC MATERIAL OF SAID SOCKET PART TO FORM A SHOULDER OPPOSED TO AND ENGAGING SAID ABRUPT TRANSVERSE SHOULDER TO PREVENT SEPARATION OF SAID SOCKET PART AND SAID SHANK PART SO AS TO HOLD SAID CLEAT AND SAID ATTACHING MEANS SECURELY TOGETHER AND TO RETAIN SAID CLEAT IN ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID SOLE, AND SAID STEM PORTION IS SNUGLY SEATED IN SAID OPEN END OF SAID SOCKET WITHOUT DEFORMING SAID MATERIAL OF SAID SOCKET PART. 